Turning a Page

President Obama is turning out to be a new asset for public diplomacy, as U.S. ambassadors refer to his unique personal story and call for change in their own appeals to foreign audiences.

We expect President Obama's ability to reach across political, generational, ethnic and racial lines to characterize his approach to international issues as well, Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard wrote in a Sunday newspaper article in Greece.

Mr. Speckhard praised Mr. Obama as a political leader who has broken racial and economic barriers and as the first American president to have spent his formative years living abroad.

Mr. Obama is a uniquely 21st century president, reflecting America's capacity to renew and reinvent itself through the democratic process, the ambassador said in his article in Free Sunday.

Mr. Speckhard noted the amazing progress of the United States, where racist laws were common when Mr. Obama was born nearly 50 years ago. His black African father and a white American mother would have been breaking laws against mixed-race marriages in several states.

It is amazing how far the United States has come in such a short time, said Mr. Speckhard, a career diplomat. When Barack Obama was born in 1961, many states had laws on their books that enforced racial segregation, banned mixed-race marriages and restricted minority voting rights. Today ... Mr Obama is the living embodiment of the idea that all people are created equal.

The ambassador also noted that Mr. Obama, himself, has broken barriers and crossed political divides.

Through hard work, dedication and creativity, Barack Obama succeeded as a student, professor, senator and ultimately was elected president, Mr. Speckhard said.

The ambassador also predicted that the Obama administration will deepen U.S.-Greek relations, which are already strong. …

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